


Ghost

by CharlotteDumont



Category: Dean Winchester - Fandom, Sam Winchester - Fandom, Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Hurt Dean Winchester, Hurt Sam Winchester, Jealous Dean Winchester, Mechanic Dean Winchester, Possessive Dean Winchester, Protective Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-19
Updated: 2016-04-22
Packaged: 2018-06-03 06:05:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,587
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6599755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlotteDumont/pseuds/CharlotteDumont
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean and Charlotte have been hunters all their lives, saving people, hunting things, you know the line. They never asked for much, in fact all they really want is a chance at a normal life, or at least as normal as they can manage. But fate, it seems, had other ideas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> “I wanted a perfect ending. Now I’ve learned, the hard way, that some poems don’t rhyme, and some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next. Delicious Ambiguity.” ― Gilda Radner

_“Living easy, living free…”_

AC/DC was blaring from the car speakers and the window was rolled down just enough to allow the crisp autumn wind to comb through Charlotte’s dark brown hair. Her fingers drummed at the wheel with the music while Dean on the other hand was busy munching on a bag of potato chips and bobbing his head along with the beat. The pair had just finished another successful hunting trip, and without a fresh case to keep them preoccupied, they were bickering like an old married couple.

"Oi, be careful! I said I'd let you drive but you promised you’d take care of my baby!" Dean yelled angrily from the passenger's seat over the loud music when Charlotte swerved suddenly to avoid a pothole. "You drive like a fucking mad-woman!" he muttered under his breath, trying to reign in a bit of temper before spewing a string of whispered curses which were drowned out by the epic guitar solo.

"Relax, grandpa. You're being a backseat driver again." She said giving a pouting Dean her best ‘annoyed’ look.

"So, where are we off to next?" Dean asked leaning back against the chair and putting his feet up on the dash. "Back to the bunker,” she replied, “Sam says there's a case but he needs to show me some research first."

Dean stiffened at the sound of his brother's name. “Does Sam… does he know about us?” he asked hesitantly, refusing to meet her eyes. “No, not yet. I haven’t spoken to him since the… incident. I wasn’t sure how he’d react and I couldn’t find a good time to bring it up,” she answered guiltily. The mood quickly changed after that and they didn’t talk much for the rest of the trip. The bunker was still a day’s drive away so they decided to check into a motel for the night.

It had been weeks since the incident but Charlotte still hasn’t been able to tell Sam the whole truth about what happened. She hoped that a long, hot shower would help relax her. Instead, she found her thoughts wandering back to that day.

_It was a frustratingly unproductive night. Sam was stuck doing research in the local library and Charlotte was literally growling at her computer, cursing at the slow progress (or lackthereof) of their current case. Sensing her frustration, Dean convinced her that a quick drive and some fresh air might help clear their heads._

_As usual, Dean was right._

_About 2 years back they were at each other’s throats on a daily basis. They would go at it about the most ridiculous things like how she took too long in the shower, or how pumpkin pie was a disgrace because cherry pie was “the best damn thing ever created”, or even how Dean should eat potato chips with 50% less salt (an argument she’d won, mind you.)_

_How she and Dean had gotten to this point she’d never really understood. A hunter’s life isn’t exactly ideal for forming deep bonds, let alone getting involved in romantic relationships. There was just too much at risk too often. But despite all that, there they were._

_Charlotte was the only one who seemed to be able to calm him down when he’d wake up in the middle of the night screaming from the nightmares from his time in hell. She’d then lull him back to sleep by pulling him into a tight embrace and whispering comforting words as she gently stroked his hair. Dean on the other hand would pick up on even slight change of her mood, buying her apple pie (a compromise they’d agreed on) when she felt down._

_For the first time in a long time they were both actually happy. Sure, maybe they couldn’t have it all; the white picket fence, the normal job, and the kids running around wreaking havoc… She could imagine Dean as a father though, carrying their kids on his shoulders, making funny faces to make them laugh, and reading them bedtime stories but falling asleep before they do. She chuckled at the thought._

_“What’s so funny?” He asked stealing a glance at a still smiling Charlotte from the driver’s seat. “Nothing really, just thinking,” she answered and instinctively reached out to scratch lightly at the back of his head. She laughed out loud this time as he all but purred at her petting._

_“What about?” he asked when she pulled her hand away. “About how if, in ideal world, we lived in a normal home and had kids, you would make one hell of a father,” Charlotte’s smile was infectious and left Dean grinning from ear to ear. “We could have that you know, if you want it.” Dean said in all seriousness. “You know I do sweetheart, but you also know that no one ever really leaves this life,” she replied sadly, “but hey a girl can dream right?”_

_It was Dean’s turn to reach over and stroke her cheek affectionately. “One day Charlotte Dumont, when we’re old and grey and can’t lift a machete over our heads, we’ll have that white picket fence you want. Whether we have kids or not we’ll live a normal life, or as normal as we can manage. We’ll watch TV on the couch and argue about who should have been eliminated at some stupid game show. I’ll eat potato chips with 50% less salt and you’ll scold me for eating it at all because my cholesterol is elevated. I’ll grumble and curse then you’ll give me that look that you always do when I’m being stubborn. I’ll curse some more but stop eating it anyway because after all those years you still scare the shit out of me a little.”_

_They both laughed at the image and sat in a comfortable silence the rest of the way until they reached their destination._

_“Aww Dean, it's times like these when I doubt whether your aversion to chick-flick moments is all just a big act because THIS is actually pretty romantic,” she teased when they came to a stop atop a cliff overlooking the twinkling lights of the stars above and the city below. “Yeah well what can I say, sometimes these little chick-flick moments ain’t so bad,” he replied nervously. “Let’s get out of the car and breathe in the fresh air,” he said unlocking the door and quickly stumbling out. “Dean, are you okay?” she asked making her way towards him._

_“Look, Charlotte,” he said suddenly, cutting her off. “I’m not really good with words; that was always Sammy’s department, so I’m sorry if this doesn’t come out as smoothly as it should,” Dean rambled nervously. “Lord knows I’m no good with feelings either, and you of all people know this better than anyone. And maybe--maybe this isn’t the right time, but hell if there’s such a thing as the ‘right time’ in our line of work.”_

_Charlotte was afraid to speak. She wasn’t sure where this was headed but it sounded like he was just about ready to break up with her… that is until he dropped down to one knee and fished for a black velvet box out of his pocket.  She couldn’t contain her gasp of surprise._

_“Charlotte Dumont, will you marry me?” he asked nervously but continued to ramble. “I-I’m sorry I couldn’t get you anything more fancy,” he’d said as he opened the box to reveal a plain platinum band, his usual cockiness replaced by an awkward shyness. “So I...uhh.. I wanted to get you a proper engagement ring, you know, like the one that prince gave to the hot dutchess. But,” he said pausing to hold out another ring shakily in his other hand, “I wanted the both of us to have a ring so I kinda just went with this.”_

_She didn’t know if she wanted to punch him for being so fucking ridiculous or kiss him silly._

_"Dean Winchester, if you think I care about that then you’re an idiot! I’d wear a fucking keychain around my finger as long as it meant I was married to you,” she said crying tears of joy as she pulled him up and into a tight hug. “Babe you didn’t really answer my question,” Dean said tearing away from the hug to cup her face and wipe away her tears. “You really are a big idiot, you know that?” She asked rhetorically before kissing him deeply then whispering her answer against his slightly chapped lips. “Yes, Dean, of course my answer is yes.”_

“Charlotte, you okay in there?” Dean’s voice pulled her back into the present, her pruny fingers meant she’d been in the shower longer than she thought. “Uhh, yeah just finishing up,” she lied before turning off the water and drying herself off. 

Dean was waiting for her on the bed with a guilty look plastered across his face. “Baby look, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you earlier.” Dean avoided her eyes as he rolled what she realized was his wedding ring around his fingers. “S’okay,” she smiled weakly and plopped down beside him. “But you know,” she said hesitantly, “we can’t keep this up forever. Eventually we’re going to have to tell Sam and…”

“I know, but not tonight.” Dean cut off biting back a bit of temper that he’d been harboring of late. “No, not tonight,” she agreed putting off the conversation once more and leaning back against the headboard.

After swearing to all the gods he knew that he would be there when she woke up, Charlotte finally let Dean tuck her into bed and watched her drift off into a peaceful sleep. He still played with his wedding band; he never seemed to let go of it anymore these days. He allowed himself a ghost of a smile as he remembered exactly how he’d been able to buy the pair of rings.

_It was a chilly autumn evening, they haven’t found a case in weeks so they holed up in the bunker doing absolutely nothing. Sam was… who knew where the man went, probably dorking out in some library. Charlotte was napping on the couch when Dean found her, an unfinished book over her chest. Her hair cascaded down in messy waves over the arm of the sofa where she lay, she wore one of Dean’s favorite, oversized sweatshirts over black leggings. She smiled at something, maybe she was having good dreams for once. He stood there quietly just looking at her and he was overwhelmed with how much love he had for her._

_It was then that he realized that he wanted more days like these with her. If there was anything in the world Dean was a hundred percent sure of, it's that he loved Charlotte with every fiber of his being. Here was a woman who struck every goddamn nerve, who challenged him and called him out on his shit, but loved him with a fierce passion and he wanted to spend the rest of their lives together._

_A special woman like Charlotte deserves the best. However, as any hunter knows, saving the world doesn’t pay as much as it should, but he’d be damned before he bought what he deemed the most important purchase of his life on stolen credit._

_So he snuck out between hunts, disappearing for long periods of time to work, mostly part-timing in auto shops since that was the one “normal” thing he excelled at. Sometimes he’d give away flyers dressed as a giant taco or mopped the floors at convenience stores, anything that would get him extra cash._

_It took a while, but several odd jobs later, he’d finally earned enough money to buy two plain platinum bands that would represent more than he could ever express in words._

Charlotte stirred from her sleep and awoke quietly catching Dean hold the ring in a tight fist, a pained expression crossed his face. She was so tempted to reach out and ask him what was bothering him, but she already knew the answer to that.

  
“Dean,” she said instead. “Hmm?” he turned his head to where she lay, “I love you,” she professed in a sudden surge of emotion. “I love you too,” he said planting a chaste kiss on her lips before drifting off to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam was down to his last bottle of beer while trying to do research for their next case; operative word being TRYING. His thoughts, however, kept circling back to the events of their last hunt which played over in his head on a loop.

It was a routine case. Once they put together all the clues, it was just a clever werewolf with an unquenchable thirst for human hearts. But what he didn’t account for, and this was something he beat himself up for repeatedly, was the werewolf’s mate who managed to sneak up on them and nearly ripped Charlotte’s heart out.

He was distracted by the sound of the bunker door opening. Charlotte hung the car keys on the hook by the door while Dean made a beeline for his room saying he’d leave ‘all that research crap’ to the nerds and vanished instantly.

“Charlotte?” Sam called out. “Sammy,” she said, pulling him into a tight hug when she saw his puffy eyes. The embrace was cut short with something clattering from a distance. “What was that?” Sam asked with a vigilant look on his face. “Didn’t hear anything,” she shrugged.

Sam passed it off as fatigue since he’d been getting little sleep lately and turned his attention back to Charlotte. “So how are you holding up?” he asked pulling her close to him again, murmuring the question against the top of her head. “I’m… fine,” she lied. “Hey,” he said cupping her face with both hands “you know you don’t have to pretend around me, right?” He said bringing their foreheads together like he always did to comfort her. Before she could answer though, the bottle of beer Sam had been drinking shattered, leaving tiny shards of glass on the floor.

Sam immediately sprang into action, grabbing a gun loaded with rock salt that was stashed underneath the piles of paper. “Charlotte get back,” he warned. Sam was about to fire to the area where a book fell to the floor but Charlotte quickly stopped him.

“Sam no, don’t shoot!” Charlotte cried. “Why shouldn’t I…” Sam stopped when he saw an angry looking Dean standing before him. “Dean?” Sam questioned, but Dean’s hands were on his throat before he could say anything else. “She’s MINE, you hear me? Don’t you ever touch her like that again!” Dean growled.

“Dean! Dean STOP IT!” Charlotte screamed. “Dean, please stop, you’re hurting him!” Her pleas (thankfully) got through to him and he shook his head with a sudden realization and let Sam go. “I-I’m sorry Sammy,” he said when he regained some sense.

“Is anyone going to explain to me WHAT THE HELL is going on here?” Sam asked, fingers still not leaving the trigger of the gun.

Charlotte tried to gather enough strength before speaking up. “The night of the incident when Dean… The moment that werewolf ripped Dean’s heart out, I saw his ghost stand by his corpse. It was just for a few seconds so I thought maybe I’d just gone into shock, but that evening when we burned his body, he stood beside me and held my hand…”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Sam asked more sad than angry. “Because I--we didn’t think you’d… understand. We knew this couldn’t go on but we… It’s just hard to let go because...” Charlotte couldn’t speak through the violent sobs that now racked her body so Dean continued for her.

“The night before we went into the werewolf’s den, I proposed to Charlotte.” Sam’s eyes widened at the revelation. “We were planning to tell you after the hunt was over. I wanted to surprise you because I was gonna ask you to be my best man. And then, well, you know the rest of the story.” Dean said sadly.

For a few good minutes, none of them spoke and the only sound that filled the bunker were Charlotte’s quiet sobs. “Charlotte, sweetheart,” Dean started, breaking the silence. “Babe I think tonight’s the night,” he brushed the hair back from her face and wiped the tears that fell. Charlotte’s voice was scratchy as she replied, “I can’t. Dean, I-I’m not ready to let you go.”

“Neither am I but baby we have to. See thing is, I don’t think either of us will ever be ready. We’ll just keep making excuses until something bad happens, something we might both regret, just like what happened with Sam. But next time… what if next time you can’t call me back? What if I really hurt Sam, or someone else? Let’s face it, I’m dead. When I finally move on to wherever it is I’m supposed to go, that’s it; but you, I know you. You’ll torture yourself about it every fucking day and I won’t allow that to happen.”

He paused to get himself together but he couldn’t stop the tears that now flowed down his face freely.

“Sweetheart, I know this is hard to hear, but you and I? Our story is done. It was short but sweet and it was one of the best damn things that happened to me. But right now we have to let each other go, because I am really losing it,” he said turning his attention to Sam.

“There’s this rage in my gut and I’m afraid I can’t control it for much longer. Just looking at Sam standing near you makes me so fucking jealous knowing that he’s alive and that he can do everything I can’t, like be there with you physically, to love you and take care of you.”

Charlotte let Dean’s words sink in, meanwhile he moved towards his brother and pulled him into a tight embrace, whispering something she didn’t quite catch.

She let out a defeated breath as the two boys led her to the fireplace to burn the last thing tethering Dean to this world.

Dean held Charlotte tightly in his arms one last time. “Sweetheart do me a favor will you and give me that smile I love so much,” Dean said pulling away to put a soothing hand at the nape of her neck and stroked it gently with his thumb; she did her best to muster a smile. “That’s my girl,” he said, planting a kiss on her lips and then one on top of her head.

“It’s time,” Sam said quietly as he stared at the dancing flames. Dean handed Charlotte the ring and she gave him one more longing look before tossing it into the fire.

Nothing happened.

“I don’t understand, why isn’t it working?” Charlotte asked confused. “Sweetheart,” he said gently, realizing what the problem was “I think you’re going to have to toss your ring into the fire too,” he said pointing to the ring she still wore on her finger.

“But why would you be tethered to my ring?” she asked furrowing her brows. “Because,” he said moving towards her again and gently removing the ring from her finger, “as long as I think you’ll hold on to me, to us and what could have been, I can never be able to move on. You’re my unfinished business, Charlotte. And the one thing I want more than ever is for you to be happy. And you can’t do that with that constant reminder of me on your finger.”

“Dean, I don’t want to forget! I can’t… I can’t imagine a world where I can be happy without you,” she said truthfully, her heart breaking with every word. “You don’t have to forget me, but you have to try to move on and be happy after me. Promise me you’ll be brave and that you’ll try.” He said looking into her eyes.

“But Dean--”

“Promise me,” he said again waiting for her answer. “I promise,” she whispered finally.

She tossed her ring into the fire and sure enough, he started to fade. “Remember what I told you Sammy,” he reminded his brother before turning back to Charlotte. “Sweetheart, don’t you forget your promise. And Charlotte? I love you. Always have, always will.”

“I love you too,” she whispered to the air.

And then he was gone.

\--  
It was quiet in the bunker after that. None of them had the energy to do much of anything. Sam was more functional though and would go out once in a while to make sure that Charlotte ate despite claiming she wasn’t hungry.

Weeks passed quickly and Sam lay awake in bed one evening while Charlotte was cuddled up beside him seeking comfort in his warmth. It was the first time in weeks she’d been so peaceful in her sleep and he was glad for it. While she slept though, he couldn’t stop thinking about what Dean had said to him when he pulled him in for a hug.

_“Sammy, I see the way you look at her, and it was only after death that I realized that I looked at her like that too; with so much adoration and love. You take care of her, you hear me? And if one day you both wake up and realize that you love each other, for God’s sake, ask her to marry you.”_


End file.
